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Aug282014

Intel Haswell-E 5960X Review and Overclocking Benchmarks

The new Intel Haswell-E line of CPUs are really aimed at enthusiasts who want the best CPU performance possible. The Core i7 5960X is Intel's top-of-the-line enthusiast chip featuring 8 cores and 16 threads. The chip is based off the new Haswell architecture which features improved efficiency and utilizes the new LGA 2011-3 socket on X99 motherboards. Another big feature is support for DDR4 memory. This is the first consumer platform from Intel that utilizes the new memory technology that allows lower voltages and higher capacities as well as speeds.

For our test bench, we used a 4x4GB kit of Corsair's Vengeance LPX memory at 2800Mhz on an ASUS X99 Deluxe motherboard. We also had a Titan Z on the test bench for video output due to the X99 chips not having an integrated GPU.

Power Draw

In our power draw test, we used a kill-a-watt to measure the total system power draw when both idle and under load. At stock settings, the i7 5960X drew about 133 watts when idle and 221 watts under load. When overclocked, the chip drew 193 watts when idle and 458 under load due to the increased voltage.

Temperature

In our temperature test, we let the computer run the LINX stress test for 30 minutes in order to get our load temperatures. At stock, the i7 5960X ran at 29C when idle and 41C under load with a 360MM radiator. When we overclocked the CPU, the chip ran at 33C when idle and 79C under load.

SiSoft - Arithmetic

In the arithmetic benchmark, the i7 5960X was faster than any of the previous processors that we have tested from Intel. With its 276 score, it is essentially as powerful as two separate i7 4790K's.

SiSoft - Cryptography

In the cryptography test, the i7 5960X again was much quicker than the older processors. The 8 cores and 16 threads helped push the beast to a 13.1 score on the benchmark. When the previous generation i7 4960X was overclocked to the same speeds, it only got a score of 8.1.

Cinebench R15

In our last compute test, the i7 5960X again beat out the competition by a large margin. The Haswell-E based i7 5960X was 30% faster than stock when overclocked and was 50% faster than the i7 4960X overclocked to the same speeds.

Conclusion

In the end, the new Haswell-E i7 5960X is definitely an improvement over the previous Ivybridge-E i7 4960X. The new architecture design and increased number of cores help give the chip a serious advantage in multi-threaded applications. All this power does come with one disadvantage, the price. Again, this processor is really meant for those who actually need the power. There is the i7 5930K for those who still want the advantages the X99 platform but don't want to spend too much on a CPU where they won't utilize all of the power.

What are your thoughts on the Intel Haswell-E i7 5960X? What would you do with this much computational power? Let us know in the comments below!